Are you sure this is the case? It's much more likely that it's "These are the hours you get paid for." I've never heard of ALTs being told they can't stay on their own time to get involved after school.

I was certainly told if I stay longer it was "on my own time," but if I leave early, I will have to either mark it down on my paperwork as not having left early (which I strongly oppose) or I will be docked. So my options are either be inflexible or be untruthful. I'm not even opposed to, "You can't leave early for any reason," but that isn't what I was told either.

I don't really care how the accounting is done internally, I just want to be able to do my job, in as little or as long as it takes me to do it, without worrying about my pay being docked or being unable to serve the needs of my students.

My concern is not getting the paperwork right and getting on the BoE's bad side losing money and still not doing my best for my students.

So it sounds to me like your school should talk to Interac. Get the principal or vice principal to let them know that you will be needed to join whatever event it is, and help with the speech contest. I had a similar situation at my last school, but found that the company's main priority was to keep the school happy. I helped for conversation contests and attended them, which included coming in for a couple of hours a day for a few days during summer break. I wasn't paid extra but I was given paid time off to take as and when. I attended any events that fell on a Saturday, and it meant the school being closed on Monday.

When you say "paperwork", are you talking about your timesheet? One per month, box for each period per day, arriving and leaving times filled in, signed by you and maybe someone else at the school? I don't really see a way around it, other than being dishonest. Just try not to leave early.

Art Club, and as far as I could tell, yes. The art teacher was also part time, so you might say it was 50/50, but as far as I am aware, there was no full time teacher supervisor. It was the two of us, and myself most often, even on days she was present. They didn't really need much supervising. I mostly just sat at the desk in the room and drew manga characters with them.

I found art club and brass band were largely unsupervised. Unless there was an event they had to be making something for or practicing for, they just got on with whatever they wanted. I'd sit and chat with the art club about who had a boyfriend. Ah, those were the days.

My concern is not getting the paperwork right and getting on the BoE's bad side losing money and still not doing my best for my students.

The BOE usually doesn't care about ALTs. That's why they farm them out to dispatch agencies, so BOEs don't have to deal with them.

Get Interac to do what it needs. They were notorious for years in paying ALTs' salaries half on payday and half 10 days later, despite attempts by the union and labor standards office to have them stop such illegal practice.

The BOE usually doesn't care about ALTs. That's why they farm them out to dispatch agencies, so BOEs don't have to deal with them.

I thought it was to give their friends sweetheart deals.

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Get Interac to do what it needs. They were notorious for years in paying ALTs' salaries half on payday and half 10 days later, despite attempts by the union and labor standards office to have them stop such illegal practice.

Ahh... but the people stamping you in at Narita are not the same immigration people who decide on renewals / status changes. You will probably need to re-explain why you were not working for long periods of your work visa (at Narita they are more conccerned, I suspect, with whether or not you have a valid visa more than anything else).

Ok, art club... yeah, they don't necessarily get a lot of supervision, and are often left to their own devices (I gather that they rarely have morning practice either). I was imagining a sports club with all the tournaments and the like that that entails... so that makes more sense.

And yeah, I agree it is definitely a good idea to get on Interac to prepare your immigration paperwork.

Ahh... but the people stamping you in at Narita are not the same immigration people who decide on renewals / status changes. You will probably need to re-explain why you were not working for long periods of your work visa (at Narita they are more conccerned, I suspect, with whether or not you have a valid visa more than anything else).

I was told all immigration officials have the entire authority of the agency behind them. They certainly did ask my why I was out of the country for so long, and I was completely honest with them. I was not informed I would need to go to an immigration office, or I would have happily done so. I have no problem re-explaining. I do not feel I have abused my visa at all. Like I said, I flew back to Japan to pay my taxes? Who does that? People concerned with remaining legal. Everything I have done has been in good faith.

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Ok, art club... yeah, they don't necessarily get a lot of supervision, and are often left to their own devices (I gather that they rarely have morning practice either). I was imagining a sports club with all the tournaments and the like that that entails... so that makes more sense.

No, but I was never lead to believe I couldn't have.

I personally can't play any team sports (I'm a figure skater), so it never even occurred to me to ask. I do play trombone, and to some extent, I am an artist. It just seemed I was placed where my skills would, of course, place me.

Agreed: You certainly did everything a good resident should. And as such, when you go to immigration and apply for your visa change (and hopefully submit it along with an explanation as to why you were not working for long periods of time) you will most likely have zero problems.

Yes, all immigration officers have the whole agency behind them, but it is probably safe to assume that an officer at entry at Narita is more concerned with you having a valid visa, than with the specific details of that visa (unless you've been flagged for some reason or another)

Technically, again, the visa is valid as long as you continue to engage in the activities for which it was granted -- but, in practice, it would seem that as long as you have a good reason and have reasonable employment lined up when you apply for a change of status / renewal you are unlikely to run into any problem.

As for a sports club, or some club which would require travelling... that is highly unlikely as the chance for injury and complications increase greatly and, from a legal standpoint, the school would have to be insane to ask you to do it on anything approaching a regular basis.

If Kionon was out of the country with a valid reentry permit, he does NOT need to explain anything to anybody. He had the permission to be gone.

If he was here and not working, that's different.

As for the "sweetheart deals" to friends, the BOE doesn't even consider a dispatch agency a friend until they get the deal. That includes the lowest bidder and promises to swap out unwanted ALTs at the drop of a hat. Don't forget the schools that did that 7 or 8 times in a year!

Art Club, and as far as I could tell, yes. The art teacher was also part time, so you might say it was 50/50, but as far as I am aware, there was no full time teacher supervisor. It was the two of us, and myself most often, even on days she was present. They didn't really need much supervising. I mostly just sat at the desk in the room and drew manga characters with them.

I found art club and brass band were largely unsupervised. Unless there was an event they had to be making something for or practicing for, they just got on with whatever they wanted. I'd sit and chat with the art club about who had a boyfriend. Ah, those were the days.

I have the same experience with AC. Just a room with kids and art supplies in it. I liked the kids and hung out there sometimes. In all that time, never did a teacher do more than ask a kid a question, and then leave.

If Kionon was out of the country with a valid reentry permit, he does NOT need to explain anything to anybody. He had the permission to be gone.

If he was here and not working, that's different.

As for the "sweetheart deals" to friends, the BOE doesn't even consider a dispatch agency a friend until they get the deal. That includes the lowest bidder and promises to swap out unwanted ALTs at the drop of a hat. Don't forget the schools that did that 7 or 8 times in a year!

I never worked in Japan while outside of Japan on a valid reentry permit, and I never worked in Japan for anyone other than the employer who sponsored my visa.

I am currently doing so, but only under the agreement my status of residence is changed ASAP.

So, Glenski should be correct, I need no explanation.

Detail update:

I finally got ahold my interviewer, and he's going to take care of the contract, and direct someone to to go with me to change my visa. He isn't sure why the people between me and him (and I think there are a few levels there) left me in the lurch.

I addressed the issues of the BoE, and he said in the bigger cities having a BoE desk or a day to day relationship with the BoE is unusual. In rural positions, like those I have had before, my kind of experience is common. In the future, if I were to stay with Interac, they would probably place me in one of those locations based on my previous experiences and my preference for rural settings.

The non-compete clause thing was total misinformation. My contract stipulates I won't compete for a direct hire position with the current BoE. I have no interest in staying here long term, or even more than a year, so that isn't an issue. He confirmed that a clause preventing me from pursuing direct hire positions, even in districts where Interac has a contract but I had not worked the year before, would be illegal and unenforceable.

Payday was also confirmed, but my question wasn't about Interac's payday, it was about a legally mandated payday. I thought I understood that you were saying there was a legally mandated payday, which I had never heard of.

As long as I can get Interac to do what it needs to do, and I can settle into a routine with my JTEs (which seems to be going quite well), I don't see any issues with my current position. There really isn't much to complain about...

Immigration has granted me a new visa, Interac wants to take my passport in so I don't miss half the day. I am NOT okay with this. EFL 101, never give your employer your passport. Do I have a legal right to demand I go in myself and not be penalised?

Immigration has granted me a new visa, Interac wants to take my passport in so I don't miss half the day. I am NOT okay with this. EFL 101, never give your employer your passport. Do I have a legal right to demand I go in myself and not be penalised?

never give your passport to anyone unless you can keep it in sight the entire time.

Did you already use one of your two days allotted for visa trips? I was told to do mine by mail, uh... no! Use your two days that were mentioned at training.. note: if you use one of these days, they are not paid. your school will ask you to come later in the year to make up for the missed day. I don't expect to get any extra pay for it from Interac...

I have used .5 days so far, and I was with my coordinator. That is work. Period. This is work related, as interac demanded a status change. I'm not interested in what Interac wants to do. I am interested in my legal rights. Seems like the should be considered work, as meeting visa requirements is a contractual obligation for both of us.

On an iPhone, so my briskness is due to the difficulty of typing. No harsh tone is meant.